The Naming Ordeal
by xxmadworldredemptionxx
Summary: AU/AH: Expecting parents Jace and Clary spend a lazy day at home discussing baby names. But with Clace, what's a discussion without some good ol' banter? CLACE ONE-SHOT [K]


_**Author's Note:**_

 _Hellooooo! It's me, xxmadworldreveriexx (or that was what I originally used to go by). If you missed my earlier post of Redemption, this is me making my official return to FF, and with a brand new account :)_

 _So this was one of the first one-shots I've ever written. Full of Clace fluff._

 _ **Disclaimer: Cassandra Clare owns the original TMI series and characters. Oh, and of course, all the Disney princesses and Anastasia belong to their respective creators. However, the plot lines and other character developments etc. in this story belongs to me,**_ _ **xxmadworldredemptionxx**_ _ **. Please do not copy, reproduce, translate, or repost these stories elsewhere without my permission.**_

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 **THE NAMING ORDEAL**

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Clary was lounging comfortably on the sofa in their living room with her swollen feet propped up on the ottoman. Jace had his head perched on her lap, his face barely visible from her view thanks to girth of her stomach, that was currently playing host to their unborn daughter.

Occasionally, he would angle his head slightly and steal a glance at her, before rewarding her with a sly, panty-dropping smirk. Then, as if it were a spontaneous reaction, she would blush, her face turning almost as red as her copper-colored hair.

It was a game they often played…a game _he_ excelled at. No matter how long they had been married—and however longer they had been childhood sweethearts—he'd never failed to make her blush with that damned smirk of his… The dumb blond idiot.

Sure, she could admit that Jace was undeniably sweet and caring at the best of times, but he was still an idiot with how frequently he enjoyed teasing her. But, oh, did Clary love him. He was more than just her spouse, but her best friend and her other half…no matter how tempting it was to shove him off the couch sometimes.

Currently, he was so engrossed in a hushed conversation with their baby that he'd given her pause from his teasing, _much to her relief_. She would catch bits and pieces of his senseless ramblings but never enough for her to piece together what he was actually talking about. But it didn't matter. She loved just listening to the _sound_ of his voice: deep and smooth like velvet. It was a sound she often fell asleep to—when Jace wasn't snoring first, that was.

Arching her sore back slightly, she lovingly ran her fingers through his luscious golden-blond curls, a serene smile lighting her face when she felt him nuzzle his face into her round stomach. At 36 weeks pregnant, just shy of a month away from her due date, Clary constantly felt that she resembled a bloated whale, but her husband's constant reassurances that she looked "the epitome of sexiness"— _his words, not hers_ —did help to alleviate her self-consciousness. She only wished that flattery would help rid her of her backaches and sore feet as well.

"Jace…" Clary bit her lip to stifle her moan. He had rolled up the hem of her T-shirt—or rather, _his_ T-shirt—to her lower chest area, leaving her freckled belly exposed to his gentle caresses and kisses. As chaste as they were meant to be, his very touch left her hypersensitive body tingling with pleasure, especially when his attention lingered on her belly button.

"Oh!" Clary jumped slightly when she felt her daughter land a strong kick to her ribs. _That_ was surely going to bruise. "Ow, Jace. What did you tell our daughter, to kick her way out of me? Seriously, I'm going to go black and blue all over…"

"Not my fault she's running out of space in there. You're so tiny, Clary," Jace told her, as if she weren't already aware of the fact.

"Hmph," she huffed as she absentmindedly rubbed her belly. "Are you done conspiring with our little girl yet? I'm starting to feel a little left out here," she said as she lightly poked his cheek.

Jace sat up and turned to face her then, his golden eyes sparkling with mischief. There—his smirk was back. _Cue blush…_

"Well, what do you want to talk about, Mommy?" he asked her in a casual tone.

Clary pretended to act nonchalant by shrugging. "I don't know," she said as her eyes glazed over the black TV screen. She ran through her mental checklist of the things they needed to prepare for their baby's arrival. _Baby clothes, check. Diapers, check. Nursery, check. Stroller, check. Car seat, check. Baby-proofing the house, check… Now, what else is missing?_

"Oh my God!" she suddenly gasped, sounding almost horrified.

Jace's face instantly transformed into a look of sheer panic. "What? What?" he demanded. "Are you having contractions? Is it time to go to the hospital already? Do I need to call my mother—or your mother? Oh shit, no! What is my mother's number again? Where's my phone?!"

Clary interrupted his hysterical driveling with a giggle. "You silly man."

"Clary— _what?_ " He genuinely looked as if he was seconds away from a mental breakdown.

"Sit down."

The continued look of utter panic—and disbelief—on his face was priceless. "Clar—"

Clary shook her head at him. "The baby's not coming yet, so you can sit your ass down and _breathe_ before you hurt yourself."

Jace scowled at her. "Then what was that expression for?" he asked, pointing to her face.

She shrugged again and looked down at her stomach, smiling at the tiny foot imprint pushing against her skin. She gently traced the outline of the foot and watched it disappear as her daughter shifted inside her, never content to stay in one place for too long. She was an extremely active baby, Clary absentmindedly thought. _Ever her father's daughter._

"Has it ever strike you odd that we _never_ came around to discussing baby names?" she finally asked upon sensing her husband's growing anxiety.

This time, Jace's eyes widened. "Oh," was his only dumb response.

"You're being incredibly _helpful_ ," Clary remarked sarcastically as she pushed herself off the sofa in search of a notepad and some pencils. She heard Jace made a spluttering noise and mutter a soft curse from behind her, but he dutifully followed her as she waddled about the room.

Once she had successfully retrieved the items, they both returned to the sofa, Clary taking up half of it as she laid her head on the armrest and casually propped her feet up on Jace's lap.

"You could have told me to grab what you wanted and I would have gotten them for you," he nagged at her. Clary ignored him.

"Here," she said, tearing off a piece of paper from the notepad and handing it to her husband. She then tossed a pencil at him, nearly hitting him in the eye.

"Good grief, woman! Careful! You're going to take my eye out," he chided her. " _Seriously._ And don't think I've forgiven you for your little stunt earlier. You almost gave me a heart attack," he said, alluding to his brief panic attack earlier.

Clary stuck out her tongue at him childishly. "Served you right," she said. "Okay, so you come up with names that you like and I'll come up with names I like, and then we'll narrow them down together. Got it?" she asked, grinning enthusiastically.

Jace smiled as he gently rubbed her feet. "Yes, dear," he said, sounding like the typically _whipped_ husband that he was.

Clary scrunched up her nose in disgust. "Don't call me 'dear'. We're not fifty yet," she sneered before looking down at her notepad and racking her brain for names.

"Hmm, whatever you say, love," Jace chuckled.

The next few minutes passed in silence, save for the sounds of scribbling and furious scratching of pencil across paper. After a while, it became obvious to the both of them that Clary's excitement had morphed into irritation and despair; if anything, her intermittent grunts were a dead giveaway. Still, Jace couldn't help but jolt a little when she suddenly flung her pencil across the room.

"I can't think of anything!" she grumbled angrily and crossed her arms over her chest.

Jace dropped his pencil onto his lap and furrowed his eyebrows at his sulking wife. Her eyes were glistening with unshed tears and her bottom lip was puckered into the most adorable-looking pout he had ever seen. _Hormones_ , he concluded silently, a small smile on his face.

"Relax, sweetheart. It's fine. It doesn't have to be something completely exotic and unheard of, you know," he said, trying to coax her.

"But I want our baby to have a special name," she whined.

Jace chuckled sofly. "She will. Trust me," he said, carefully leaning over her stomach to peck her pouty lips. "In fact, I've already come up with a few," he murmured against her mouth before slowly retreating to his original position.

"Really?" She perked up happily.

Jace nodded and Clary reached her arms out for him eagerly like a two-year-old child asking to be picked up–with the exception that she was currently sporting a stomach the size of a basketball. "Help me," she ordered, and Jace obediently complied, resting his hand on the small of her back.

Once she was sitting upright again, Clary leaned her head against his shoulder, trying to get a peek at the list of names that Jace— _much to her surprise_ —had already thought up for their baby girl, but he deliberately angled the piece of paper away from her inquisitive gaze.

"Come on, Jace. Show me!" she begged impatiently.

Her husband grinned. "Nope. I shall read them to you," he said. Clary huffed. "Patience is a virtue, my beautiful wife."

"Oh, I'll show you just how _patient_ I can be if you don't start talking now," she threatened.

"Bossy," Jace muttered to himself before clearing his throat. "Ah. The first one, Jacie, with an '-ie' instead of an '-ey'," he told her after a long dramatic pause.

Clary's mood instantly deflated.

" _Jacie_? Really, Jace? Really?" She gave him an incredulous look, but he only smirked, as proud of his ingenious suggestion. _Ugh, I should have seen that one coming._ "NEXT," she said pointedly, deciding that it was probably best not to linger on the horrendous name.

Jace pouted but continued to plow through his list. "Okay, the next one is…Jacette." Clary narrowed her green eyes warningly at him. "Okay… How about Jacinda? Jacephine? Jacelyn?"

Clary shook her head furiously at him, and before he could react, she snatched the piece of paper out of his hands.

"Hey!"

" _Hush_ ," Clary snapped. As her eyes scanned his writing, she was astonished when she realized that those were indeed the names that Jace had so 'fantastically' thought of. NO JOKE.

She had been hoping against hope that he had only been making those names up to purposely annoy her, but as usual, her husband never ceased to defy her expectations of him—and this time, not in a good way.

"Come on, Clary…at least I was inventive."

"Inventive?"

"Creative," he defended himself. "I came up with _five_ names all by myself."

"Oh, indeed. Five names that are all female variations of your own name—so _creative_ ," she drawled unhappily. "And what the hell is 'Jacelyn'? It sounds like a combination of your name and my mother's!" she ranted exasperatedly, then paused as she contemplated something. "You're not secretly in love with my mother…are you?" she interrogated him through narrowed eyes.

Jace instantly blanched. "EW, Clary, no!" he denied, a little too quickly. His left eye twitched, a nervous tick of his. "I might have thought that she was hot when I was eight, but—"

Clary's eyes widened. "Wait!" she interrupted him. "You had a crush on my mom when you were eight?!" she screeched.

Jace, whom she swore had _never_ blushed, turned a deep red from embarrassment. And while Clary should have been celebrating this proud moment of hers—for finally succeeding in getting underneath her husband's skin—she could barely muster any feelings other than disgust.

"NO! It was in the past! I don't feel _anything_ for your mother! It's practically incest!"

Clary gawked at him. How was she supposed to come to terms with something like that? Jace, albeit a young eight-year-old Jace, once had the 'hots' for _her mother_. And what's worse, she actually felt jealous and betrayed by the fact that her mother—not _her_ —was Jace's first crush.

 _Oh God. Stop this now._ She shook her head. _Stupid brain. Stupid hormones. Jace loves me, not my mother. Jace loves ME!_

"Hello… Earth to Clary… Clarissa? Clarissa Adele Herondale?" Jace waved his hand in front of her face, then resorted to snapping his fingers repeatedly to get her attention.

"What?" she finally snapped.

"I thought of other names for our baby," he said softly as he laid his palm against her belly. On cue, their little girl gave a strong kick, as if acknowledging her father's touch.

Clary sighed, relenting to his attempt to cajole her. "Fine. Let's hear it, then."

Jace gave her a nervous smile and bit his lip. _Nice going, Jace,_ he thought as he silently cursed himself. Why couldn't he have said something else? Of all the lies that he could have come up with, this was the worst! How was he supposed to conjure up decent names out of thin air—just like that?

"Well?" his wife demanded. Her hand shot out and slapped him roughly on the arm.

"Um, A-Anastasia!" Jace blurted out the first random name that came to his mind.

Okay, scratch that. It wasn't completely _random_ , but justified by memory. He remembered being coerced into watching the animated film _Anastasia_ multiple times with Clary when they were both younger. One could say that it had left quite the impression on him. Clary loved the movie, and admittedly, so did he. It was one of their shared favorites.

It _could_ work.

Anastasia was after all, a redhead, and a feisty one, too. Exactly like Clary. Besides, if their daughter were to take after either one of them, it would most likely be Clary.

Yes, it would definitely work.

"No," Clary replied sternly, cutting off his train of thought.

"But why?" Jace whined, a little miffed by her rejection. It wasn't a totally bad suggestion, even if it had been at the spur of the moment. It was way better than Jacie, Jacette, Jacinda, Jacephine and Jacelyn combined, he silently argued.

"Because…I don't feel a spark when I hear the name 'Anastasia Herondale'. It just sounds…weird," Clary reasoned.

Jace sighed and threw his head backwards against the sofa, resisting the urge to list out all of Anastasia's positive traits. The latter was his favorite cartoon heroine for good reason. She was strong and independent, and cared a lot about finding herself and her family. He wanted his daughter to be _exactly_ like that: to put her family first instead of running off and chasing boys—

 _Wait, hold that thought…_ After Anastasia found her grandmother, she didn't exactly stick around. On the contrary, she'd _eloped_ with Dimitri—and how old was she again? 18? _Oh God, no!_ Jace's eyes widened in abject horror. He refused let his daughter be one of those girls who would leave home and run off with a boy! He would much rather keep her safely tucked away in their home, and maybe, when she was at least 35, he would find a perfect suitor for her instead.

"What about Ariel?" he suggested as the image of the redheaded mermaid swam in his mind.

Clary rolled her eyes at him in disdain. "Oh sure, why not? We live next to the ocean anyway. Our daughter could grow up believing that she really _is_ a mermaid and start talking to fishes—"

Jace's eyes suddenly widened in alarm and he shook his head. "No, no, no, wait. I take it back. I don't like the name Ariel," he said, distractedly recalling how Ariel had been stubborn and rebellious, and not to mention, a completely disobedient daughter. Instead of listening to her father—like every young child _should_ —she'd foolishly chose to make a deal with the sea-witch Ursula—and for _what_? The chance to be with a human boy!

 _Here we go again_ , Jace thought, rubbing at his temples agitatedly. Why was it, that behind the downfall of almost every female cartoon protagonist, was a damned boy? It wasn't as if Eric was much of a handsome character anyway; Ariel was just a naïve teenager who had fallen in love with him at first sight. _Forbidden love, pah,_ Jace thought disgustedly.

What was it with these Disney filmmakers trying to push the idea of girls chasing after the boy of their dreams? Why couldn't they impart values like self-preservation and familial love instead? There was more to life than finding true love—even if he was being slightly hypocritical about the issue, where he and Clary were concerned anyway.

Just then, another name popped into Jace's head and a large, victorious smile spread across his face. "What about Merida?" he asked his wife, whose frown only deepened in response. "You know, from that movie _Brave_?" he continued, recalling the movie he'd watched with Clary a couple of months ago.

He couldn't find any faults with that movie; Merida, as far as he knew, was headstrong and brave, and most importantly, she didn't care about boys. She might have been harsh to her mother earlier on in the movie, but she eventually learnt her lesson and patched things up with her. It was perfect. And not to mention she was a red—

"Jace, are you going to keep listing out every single character from an animated film that's redheaded?" Clary asked, feeling increasingly vexed. "There's a 50 percent chance that our baby could turn out to be a blond."

Jace pouted again, upset that Clary kept shooting down his suggestions. He had valid reasons for choosing them, he thought, feeling a little hurt.

"Fine then," he finally muttered. "What about…Aurora?" It was a pretty name, he mused. A sweet and refined name.

"After _Sleeping Beauty_?" Clary asked, disdain clear in her voice.

She was seriously considering whacking Jace on the head from all of his name suggestions so far. Honestly, could he think of anything _other_ than the names of these Disney princesses? Though Anastasia technically wasn't Disney-related, but she digressed. What other names would he suggest next? Cinderella? Belle? Snow White? Jasmine? Nope, no way in hell. Especially not Jasmine. Clary had a feeling that Jace would turn that name into something that sounded like 'Jace' too…like 'Jacemin'. Clary shuddered. That was so not going to happen.

"Honey, could we please just—"

"Fine, Clary, I get it. You don't like any of my name suggestions. It's fine," Jace said, not bothering to hide the fact that he was fully sulking now. He sat facing away from her on the sofa, his shoulders slightly hunched and his golden eyes drawn with sadness.

Clary felt a slight pinch of guilt in her chest, and sighed. "Honey, it's not that," she began gently, in an effort to beguile her sensitive husband. She made a subtle motion of rolling her eyes when she recalled how Jace was always muttering about her being the 'hormonal' one in their relationship. It surely didn't seem that way now. _Geez, should I give him my tampons, too?_

"It's just…you know...Aurora—I don't want our daughter to end up like some damsel-in-distress locked away in her tower waiting for her Prince Charming to come save her. God forbid she takes after her namesake and ends up lazing around in bed all day," she said, trying to make sense out of the senseless words she'd just uttered. Okay, maybe the name Aurora was beautiful, but Clary didn't want to be one of those stereotypical mothers who named their daughters after those Disney princesses (sans Anastasia). She wanted something different and… _unique_.

Jace nodded but he remained decidedly quiet. Repressing a sigh, Clary move towards him then wrapped her arms around his neck, entangling her fingers into his hair. His reaction was instantaneous: his muscles loosened, as if melting into her embrace. Who knew that her six-foot-tall husband could be so pliant to her five-foot-two?

Clary smirked to herself before bringing her lips to his. They kissed slowly, softly—and in her case, to convey her apology. When Jace tugged her closer to him, his hands gripping her waist possessively, but not hard enough to bruise her, she knew that she had succeeded in her mission.

Their mouths parted as they broke away from their kiss, and Jace dropped his head onto her shoulder. Clary gently combed her hand through his curls, loving the feel of its smooth, silky texture in between her fingers. "I made some mango pudding this morning. Do you want some?" she asked him.

"Yeah," he said with a nod.

"Alright. How about you go put on a movie while I get you some pudding?" she suggested and Jace quickly nodded again before heading towards the DVD player.

Clary watched him sift through their DVD collection before she slowly heaved herself off the sofa and made her way towards the kitchen. It was a good thing she had the foresight to make some mango pudding earlier today. It always came in handy when Jace was having his _men_ -struation. She snorted to herself. _HA-HA! I could be a comedian,_ she thought.

Opening the refrigerator door, she carefully pulled out her famous mango pudding, one that could be considered a staple in their household. Much to her amusement, her husband had an odd, long-standing fascination with mangoes and tomato soup, so it was practically a necessity to keep their kitchen stocked with both. She couldn't complain. At least he had simple taste in food.

In the midst of her happy daze, her mother's chirpy voice rang freely in her mind: _The way to a man's heart is always through his stomach!_

Clary nearly dropped the pudding as her pregnancy-addled brain conjured up an image of Jace checking out her mother. It was exceedingly disturbing and…creepy.

 _Oh, ew, ew, ew!_ She shook her head vigorously to rid herself of those horrifying images. God, she needed to stop. This was unhealthy for her…and the baby. _Focus, Clary. Focus. Focus on cutting the mango pudding,_ she directed herself as she drew out a knife from one of the drawers.

As she busied herself in the kitchen, Jace unthinkingly chose the movie _Frozen_. Clary had gotten it a while ago and they had yet to watch it together. He shrugged to himself as he inserted the disc into the player.

A few minutes later, Clary returned, a plate piled with mango pudding for her husband. She raised an eyebrow when she realized that Jace had chosen the movie _Frozen_ but decided not to dwell too much on it. Still, it amused her a little to see Jace's sudden peaked interest in Disney movies. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that they were expecting a baby girl, she speculated.

She handed him the plate before tucking herself into his side and pulling a woolen blanket over them. Clary didn't know how he managed it, but somehow Jace was able to eat the pudding while holding her at the same time. "Is it good?" she queried as he spooned a rather large portion of pudding off the plate and shoved it into his mouth.

His answer was in the form of a pleased moan. " _Delicious_ ," he told her with his mouth full. " _Mangoesarethefruitsofheaven_."

Clary snorted then turned her attention to the TV. She was thoroughly engrossed with everything that was happening onscreen when all of a sudden—when they were halfway through the song _Do You Want To Build A Snowman?_ —Jace scrambled for the remote and hit the 'pause' button.

"JACE!" Clary cried out irritatedly. When she turned to face him, he had the weirdest huge grin on his face, and his golden eyes were glowing with a spark Clary recognized to be 'enlightenment'—or so he named it—every time he claimed to have experienced a glorious epiphany.

"What, now?" she asked, rubbing the space in between her eyebrows with pure annoyance. "Did you just realize that you've a sudden urge to run out of the house and build a snowman in the middle of fall?"

"No, Clary. It's better than all of that, I promise," he said in an excited tone.

Clary raised her eyebrows as she fixed him with a flustered glare. His eyes were the most vibrant and exuberant shade of gold. She held her breath, steeling herself for her husband's 'mindblowing revelation' when he opened his mouth in yet another dramatic pause. Then came his words:

"I think we should name her Anna."

Clary slapped her forehead and fell back into the sofa with another exasperated groan.

God help their poor baby.

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 ** _A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed that! Please review! Other one-shots to come your way soon..._**


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